As happened in Spain in the past, Italy will be pleased to host two Formula 1 Grand Prix on national territory until at least 2025, taking advantage of Imola’s return to the calendar in 2020 due to the pandemic debacle.
Formula 1 is what it is today largely due to the history that it has been building over the years since it became official back in 1950. Just as fans remember legendary drivers, some circuits have also contributed to praise the popularity of the queen category of motorsport.
One of these routes, without a doubt, is the circuit Enzo and Dino Ferrari: after debuting at the ‘Grand Circus’ in 1980 hosting the Italian Grand Prix, it became the venue for the San Marino GP from 1981 onwards, until the last race between its curves was held in 2006.
The pandemic gave Italians the opportunity to return to the calendar in 2020, precisely 14 years after abandoning it. A victory for Lewis Hamilton in that year and another for Max Verstappen last year, in the season in which he ended up being crowned world champion, have been the culmination of two races that have delighted the fans.
“The circuit is iconic and it has been part of the history of our sport”, recognized Stefano Domenicali, president of Formula 1. “They have done an incredible job hosting two races during the pandemic; It’s time to be proud for our Italian fans, with two races.”
With the publication of this agreement, Imola is guaranteed to remain in Formula 1 until 2025, just the same year in which the contract that Monza maintains will conclude with sport, so Italian fans are in luck.
With 20 million of dollars of disbursement by the current agreement, Imola is, after Montecarlo, the circuit of the calendar that pays less for hosting a Grand Prix, thus placing itself on the opposite side of the scale than Baku and Losail, whose fee is 55 millions of dollars.